International cable operator Liberty Global has raised its stake in ITV to 9.9% but said it had no intention of taking over the UK’s biggest free-to-air commercial TV firm.

Liberty, the owner of pay-TV company Virgin Media, took a 6.4% stake in ITV a year ago, and in September said it had no plans to increase the holding.

“Given ITV’s operating and stock price performance, we were able to increase our stake to 9.9% with no incremental investment by hedging our existing equity position,” Liberty said on Friday.

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“This investment remains an opportunistic one for us in our largest market.“

Liberty Global confirmed it did not intend to make an offer to acquire ITV.

Backed by US tycoon John Malone, who also controls Liberty Media Corp and Discovery Communications, Liberty Global has bought cable assets across Europe in the past decade and has more recently started buying strategic stakes in content producers.